Who inherits?

Despite the significant number of estate owners who are yet to put a succession plan in place, most owners have strong opinions regarding their intended heirs and the handover process.

In our original 2005 research we explored the role of primogeniture in the succession planning of estate owners. With its importance as a factor when selecting an heir already diminishing at that time, it now does not register as a consideration at all.

When asked what factor was the most important when selecting an intended heir, no respondents (0%) cited possession of the family name. Only two factors emerged as governing the intentions of estate owners regarding their heirs.

Fear for their estate in the future

Important that the estate stays within the family

53% of respondents told us that their most pressing fear for their estate in the future was that it stays within the family. This contrasts with our 2005 survey where 62% of respondents said that it was important that an estate stays within the family – perhaps signifying a continued softening of perceptions regarding the importance of lineage.

Want a chosen heir to wish to inherit

A second factor has wider significance; 78% of estate owner respondents confirmed that it was important to them that a chosen heir actually wished to inherit. Almost a third of respondents said that if none of their heirs wished to inherit, they would prefer to dispose of the estate in their lifetime rather than deploy other mechanisms, such as establishing a trust to manage the estate on behalf of beneficiaries.

How important is it that a chosen heir(s) wishes to inherit?

The desire for an heir to have a strong interest in inheriting an estate is an increasingly fundamental consideration for estate owners, but this also raises questions about suitability and preparedness.

Of current estate owners would like a handover of more than five years

Of inheritors would like a handover of less than five years

When asked about fears for the future of their estate once it had passed to the next generation, the preparedness of heirs was cited by almost half of respondents (43%). This is echoed by those estate owners (32%) who told us that they would ideally want a long handover period of more than five years with their chosen heirs. Interestingly, this is in contrast with the sample of prospective inheritors which we surveyed, almost all of whom (92%) ideally wanted a handover period of less than five years.

The most pressing fears and concerns of owners for the future of their estate

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